Course Meetings

Course Description and Learning Goals

Course Description

Welcome to International Study Program!

The ISP course focuses on the impact of variation in the economic, political, legal, social, and cultural contexts of nations on the competitive business strategies of local and multinational firms. We will start with developing a general framework for country analysis by studying differences in political systems, cultures and general business environment to examine the opportunities, challenges and risks a particular country presents to both firms headquartered in that country, and to multinational firms doing business in that country. We will then discuss concepts and tools useful in evaluating and formulating the international business strategy of the firms. We will then apply the concepts of country analysis and international business strategies using a number of case studies. Finally, we will talk about business environment in Asia and specifically Singapore.

The course will then proceed with a visit to Singapore during which you will be able to observe directly how the economic, political, legal, social and cultural context impacts how business is done in Singapore compared to in other countries, particularly in comparison with the U.S. While in Singapore, you will participate in presentations and discussions of developments and trends in Asian countries and companies and participate in a visit to a host company where you will meet with senior managers to discuss strategic opportunities and challenges. In addition, you will have time on your own to explore the history, cultural sites, and local customs of Singapore.

The course will culminate in a school-wide competition among student teams from all sections of the International Study Project course. The competition will require that each team prepare and present a report that diagnoses the major longer-term performance opportunities and challenges facing the company visited, and makes strategic recommendations to its management addressing those opportunities and challenges.

Course Pre-Requisites

None

Course Outline

Session

Day

Date

Topic

Assignment

1

Mon

1/28

Introduction to the Course

Read: Syllabus

2

Wed

1/30

A Framework for Country Analysis: Distance and comparing economic systems

Ghemawat, “Distance Still Matters”, Harvard Business Review, September 2001

3

Mon

2/4

A Framework for Country Analysis: Culture

“Sealed Air (A),” Harvard Business Case Study

“Wa, Guanxi, and Inhwa,” Business Horizon, March 1989

“The Chinese Family Altar,” Understanding Global Culture

4

Wed

2/6

A Framework for Country Analysis: The Macro and Microeconomics of country competitiveness

“China: Building Capitalism with Socialist Characteristics,” Harvard Business Case Study

Min Chen, Asian Management Systems (Chinese Family Business)

13

Wed

3/13

Applying Country Analysis: An introduction to Singapore and Asia

“Remaking Singapore,” Harvard Business Case Study

“The Singapore Hawker Center,” Understanding Global Culture

Singapore analysis due (Ungraded assignment)

Mon

3/18

Trip

Wed

3/20

Trip

14

Mon

3/25

Debrief Country/Company visit in class
Exam Review

Presentation Advice

5 Learnings due (Ungraded assignment)

15

Wed

3/27

Midterm Exam

16

Mon

4/1

Team Meeting: Presentation Preparation

No Class

17

Wed

4/3

Team Meeting: Presentation Preparation

No Class

18

Mon

4/8

Team Meeting: Presentation Preparation

No Class

19

Wed

4/10

Team Meeting: Presentation Preparation

No Class

20

Mon

4/15

Team Meeting: Presentation Preparation

No Class

21

Wed

4/17

Team Meeting: Presentation Preparation

No Class

22

Mon

4/22

Team Meeting: Presentation Preparation

No Class

23

Wed

4/24

Team Meeting: Presentation Preparation

No Class

24

Mon

4/29

Team Meeting: Presentation Preparation

No Class

25

Wed

5/1

Team Presentations

26

Mon

5/6

Team Presentations

27

Wed

5/8

Team Presentations

Fri

5/10

Regional Playoffs and Global Competition

28

Mon

5/13

Individual Report Due

No Class

Required Course Materials

Course Material:

A course pack is available for purchase in the bookstore. Presentation slides and additional reading material will be either distributed in class or uploaded to Blackboard.

Assessment Components

Grading Components

Individual Assignments

1. Class, Trip and Group Participation 10%

2. Individual Company/Country Comparison 15%

3. Midterm Quiz 25%

4. Individual Strategy Report 15%

Team Assignments

1. Team Competitive Analysis Report 10%

2. Team Presentation 25%

Individual Assignments

1. Class, Trip and Group Participation: (15%)

Participation grade will be based on:

1. Class and trip Attendance

2. Contribution to the class discussion

3. Share relevant articles with class

Class attendance is expected throughout the course including (1) the final competition (Friday afternoon, 5/10) and (2) the class competition days (5/1, 5/6, 5/8). There is also a mandatory travel orientation and ticket distribution meeting for the trip on Wednesday, February 27 from 5:30pm-7pm, at Paulson Auditorium, Tisch Hall. You are expected to attend all of these events.

Please clear class absences for job interviews and personal circumstances with me in advance via email. Otherwise you are allowed two unexcused absences, after which absences will affect your participation grade.

Attendance during the school trip to Singapore is a very important component of the learning process in this course. For those who have obtained permission to miss the trip, you will be given a make-up assignment. In addition, you are expected to do additional research work on your group project so that there is an equitable distribution of work among the members of your group. During the trip, you are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct.

You are required to read all the assigned material before class and contribute to class discussion. If you are hesitant to speak in class, see me and we can discuss ways to help you contribute.

Those who bring press articles relevant to what is being taught in class will receive extra credit. You should email me the link/files ahead of the class.

2. Individual Company/Country Comparison Report: (15%)

This report asks you to compare the firm you will visit in Budapest to a competing firm headquartered in a different country to identify what differences, if any, between the two countries make a difference in the competitiveness of the two companies. (If possible, each member of a group should pick a competitor in a different country). The ISP course is premised on the idea that location matters, and that managers must understand if, when, and how differences between the economic, social, political, and cultural conditions and dynamics of countries matter for firms. This is meant to be a challenging assignment. Additional guidance will be provided in class. Suggested length is 5-7 typewritten pages, doublespaced, 12 point Times New Roman or comparable font

This report are due in class on Friday, 3/8.

3. Midterm Quiz

This will be a closed books/closed note exam. The quiz will be held in class on Wednesday, 3/27. The quiz will be a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer type questions. More details on the quiz will be provided in class.

4. Individual Strategy Report

Write a report on your company that 1) compares, contrasts, and critically evaluates the recommendations of other teams in your section in terms of their potential impact on firm performance, their impact on the firm’s competitive position and risks, their use of competitively valuable firm resources, and their “affordability” in terms of the cash flows and debt capacity of the firm, and 2) presents an integrated set of strategic recommendations that you would make to management based on the above comparison, contrast and evaluation. Note that you do not need to comment on all teams recommendations. This report is due in class on Monday, 5/13. Suggested length is 8 typewritten pages [excluding appendix], double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman or comparable font.

Team Assignments

The students must form groups of 5 for group assignments. There will be two group assignments; competitive analysis report and team presentations. Those who are not able to find a group will be assigned a group by me. Since group activity is a substantial component of this course, it is recommended that you find group members with whom you share a good group dynamic. It is also required that each group has no more than one person who is not going on the trip.

1. Team Competitive Analysis Report

For our company’s industry:

a. Analyze the industry structure using Porter’s Five Forces

b. Draw a conclusion about the attractiveness of the industry

c. Identify Key Success Factors

For our company:

a. Prepare a SWOT analysis recognizing that your analysis will be richer after our visit to the company

b. Develop five questions that you would like to ask senior management during our visit. Provide short context to the questions if needed. Please write your questions in a direct, easy to understand structure.

Suggested length is 5-6 typewritten pages, not including appendices, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman or comparable font. The report is due on Friday, 2/15

2. Team Presentation

Each group will make a presentation in class on the company it visited. These presentations must be limited to no more than 15 minutes. 2 minutes will be allowed for Q&A. The presentations will take place on 5/1, 5/6, and 5/8. A winning team will be selected for each section. That team will then compete in a Regional Playoff on Friday morning, 5/10. Winners of the three Regional Playoffs will compete in a Global Competition on Friday afternoon, 5/10. A general outline for your presentation is given below (you will be provided with additional guidance in class):

Outline your company's strategic situation, i.e., its strengths/advantages over competitors, and the major challenges and weaknesses it will have to overcome in the next few years. Develop a strategic plan for the next 3-5 years to maintain and or improve the firm's performance. Specifically, what significant changes in the firm’s geographic scope, product scope, product development policies, marketing policies, operations policies, finance policies, organization structure, and/or human resource management policies would you recommend?

The presentation slides are due by 6 PM on Wednesday, April 24. In order to ensure that those who are scheduled to present later do not garner an unfair advantage, all presentations slides must be submitted before the deadline. Presentation order will be determined randomly. Each team should bring sufficient number of slide handouts for the rest of the class, including the TF and me. Team members will have an opportunity to evaluate each other at the end of the course, and those who do not meet team responsibilities will receive lower grades on team projects. Peer evaluation forms will be available to ensure fair evaluations of team contributions.

Group Projects

Guidelines for Group Projects

Business activities involve group effort. Consequently, learning how to work effectively in a group is a critical part of your business education.

Every member is expected to carry an equal share of the group’s workload. As such, it is in your interest to be involved in all aspects of the project. Even if you divide the work rather than work on each piece together, you are still responsible for each part. The group project will be graded as a whole: its different components will not be graded separately. Your exams may contain questions that are based on aspects of your group projects.

It is recommended that each group establish ground rules early in the process to facilitate your joint work including a problem-solving process for handling conflicts. In the infrequent case where you believe that a group member is not carrying out his or her fair share of work, you are urged not to permit problems to develop to a point where they become serious. If you cannot resolve conflicts internally after your best efforts, they should be brought to my attention and I will work with you to find a resolution.

You will be asked to complete a peer evaluation form to evaluate the contribution of each of your group members (including your own contribution) at the conclusion of each project. If there is consensus that a group member did not contribute a fair share of work to the project, I will consider this feedback during grading.

Grading

At NYU Stern we seek to teach challenging courses that allow students to demonstrate their mastery of the subject matter. In general, students in undergraduate core courses can expect a grading distribution where:

25-35% of students can expect to receive A’s for excellent work

50-70% of students can expect to receive B’s for good or very good work

5-15% of students can expect to receive C’s or less for adequate or below work

Note that while the School uses these ranges as a guide, the actual distribution for this course and your own grade will depend upon how well you actually perform in this course.

Re-Grading

The process of assigning grades is intended to be one of unbiased evaluation. Students are encouraged to respect the integrity and authority of the professor’s grading system and are discouraged from pursuing arbitrary challenges to it.

If you believe an inadvertent error has been made in the grading of an individual assignment or in assessing an overall course grade, a request to have the grade re-evaluated may be submitted. You must submit such requests in writing to me within 7 days of receiving the grade, including a brief written statement of why you believe that an error in grading has been made.

Professional Responsibilities For This Course

Attendance

Class attendance is essential to your success in this course and is part of your grade. An excused absence can only be granted in cases of serious illness, grave family emergencies, or religious observance and must be documented. Job interviews and incompatible travel plans are considered unexcused absences. Where possible, please notify me in advance of an excused absence.

Students are responsible for the course materials, including lectures, from the first day of this class, forward. It is the student's obligation to bring oneself up to date on any missed coursework .

Participation

In-class contribution is a significant part of your grade and an important part of our shared learning experience. Your active participation helps me to evaluate your overall performance.
You can excel in this area if you come to class on time and contribute to the course by:

Providing strong evidence of having thought through the material.

Advancing the discussion by contributing insightful comments and questions.

Late assignments will either not be accepted or will incur a grade penalty unless due to documented serious illness or family emergency. Exceptions to this policy for reasons of religious observance or civic obligation will only be made available when the assignment cannot reasonably be completed prior to the due date and you make arrangements for late submission in advance.

Classroom Norms

Arrive to class on time and stay to the end of the class period. Chronically arriving late or leaving class early is unprofessional and disruptive to the entire class. Repeated tardiness will have an impact on your grade.

Turn off all electronic devices prior to the start of class. Laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices are a distraction to everyone.

Stern Policies

General Behavior
The School expects that students will conduct themselves with respect and professionalism toward faculty, students, and others present in class and will follow the rules laid down by the instructor for classroom behavior. Students who fail to do so may be asked to leave the classroom.

Collaboration on Graded Assignments
Students may not work together on graded assignment unless the instructor gives express permission.

Course Evaluations
Course evaluations are important to us and to students who come after you. Please complete them thoughtfully.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is critical to the learning process and to all that we do here at NYU Stern. As members of our community, all students agree to abide by the NYU Stern Student Code of Conduct, which includes a commitment to:

Exercise integrity in all aspects of one's academic work including, but not limited to, the preparation and completion of exams, papers and all other course requirements by not engaging in any method or means that provides an unfair advantage.

Clearly acknowledge the work and efforts of others when submitting written work as one’s own. Ideas, data, direct quotations (which should be designated with quotation marks), paraphrasing, creative expression, or any other incorporation of the work of others should be fully referenced.

Refrain from behaving in ways that knowingly support, assist, or in any way attempt to enable another person to engage in any violation of the Code of Conduct. Our support also includes reporting any observed violations of this Code of Conduct or other School and University policies that are deemed to adversely affect the NYU Stern community.

The entire Stern Student Code of Conduct applies to all students enrolled in Stern courses and can be found here:

To help ensure the integrity of our learning community, prose assignments you submit to Blackboard will be submitted to Turnitin. Turnitin will compare your submission to a database of prior submissions to Turnitin, current and archived Web pages, periodicals, journals, and publications. Additionally, your document will become part of the Turnitin database.

Recording of Classes

Your class may be recorded for educational purposes

Students with Disabilities

If you have a qualified disability and will require academic accommodation of any kind during this course, you must notify me at the beginning of the course and provide a letter from the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD, 998-4980, www.nyu.edu/csd) verifying your registration and outlining the accommodations they recommend. If you will need to take an exam at the CSD, you must submit a completed Exam Accommodations Form to them at least one week prior to the scheduled exam time to be guaranteed accommodation.